NCAA

Miami’s Bridgewater Helps Louisville Punch BCS Ticket

PISCATAWAY, NJ – NOVEMBER 29: of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights of the Louisville Cardinals during the first half in a game at High Point Solutions Stadium on November 29, 2012 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images)

UM

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Fresh off an announcement of a planned move to the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Louisville Cardinals rallied behind Miami’s Teddy Bridgewater to win a share of the Big East Championship.

Louisville’s star sophomore quarterback didn’t know how much he would play against Rutgers and wasn’t well enough to start. When it became apparent that the Cardinals couldn’t beat Rutgers without him, he decided it was time to go.

Bridgewater came off the bench to throw two-second half touchdown passes, and John Wallace kicked a 29-yard field goal with 1:41 left to give Louisville a 20-17 victory against Rutgers on Thursday night in what was essentially the Big East championship game.

“That what you live for, you live for the big moments,” Bridgewater said.

With the victory, the Cardinals punched their ticket to the BCS. The Big East title will be split between Rutgers, Syracuse, Cincinnati and Louisville. But the Cardinals will be heading to the BCS thanks to having the highest BCS ranking.

The final destination for the Cardinals will either be the Sugar Bowl against Florida or the Orange Bowl against Florida State/Georgia Tech. If Kent State beats Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship and is ranked 16th or higher, Kent State will go to the Orange Bowl and Louisville heads to the Sugar Bowl.

Conversely, if Kent State loses to Northern Illinois, Louisville will fly south to the Orange Bowl and Oklahoma will likely be headed to the Sugar Bowl.